


love

by maryabolkonskaya



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Divorced Alexander Hamilton/Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler, F/F, Fluff, Hijabi Elizabeth Schuyler, Muslim Character, Muslimah Maria Reynolds, Nonbinary Elizabeth Schuyler, Past Relationship(s), Slow Dancing, did you know that wlw are beautiful and gorgeous wow, mentions of compulsory heterosexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-08 06:38:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11076084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maryabolkonskaya/pseuds/maryabolkonskaya
Summary: Elizabeth Schuyler looks forward to Friday evenings.





	love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [maerzkindt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maerzkindt/gifts).



Elizabeth Schuyler looks forward to Friday evenings.

They attend a ballroom dancing class in town every afternoon, and afterwards on Friday the teacher hosts a community dance for anyone to come. It's a chance to practice more, and Eliza greatly enjoys the music selection they always have queued up.

Eliza looks forward to Friday evenings because it's always amazing to watch how even the most shy, introverted people open up when they take the floor with a special someone (or, in some cases, a random person who tickles their fancy.)

Because the cute, old couples who come every week make their heart swell with happiness and a sense of joy.

Because they like dressing up.

Because they can relax about Philip since he's with Angelica, the best babysitter anyone could ask for.

Eliza, donned in a full-skirted, white, long-sleeved dress; white, lacy tights; and bright blue heels, sips at a flute of champagne as one of their favorite couples (a young man, Ben; and his boyfriend, Nathan) start the night off. Eliza's hijab is done in a slightly nicer style than it normally would be, and the color matches their heels exactly. They're dressed nice, but not excessively so.

Other couples slowly make their way to the floor, and Eliza tries to subtly watch someone from across the room.

The women's name is Maria, and Eliza is smitten (and she's Muslim, but doesn't wear the hijab. _Swoon_.) She always looks dapper (one of Eliza's favorite words to describe Maria, along with "snazzy") in her black and white pinstripe slacks; a crisp, white, button-down shirt; a set of blood red suspenders; a pair of white heels; and a bowtie that matches her pants. Her dark, almost maroon hair is cut short in a bob that reaches her chin. A beauty mark dots her cheek.

Eliza is about to stand and invite Maria to dance, but before they can stand Maria is in front of them with an outstretched hand. Her fingernails are the same color as her suspenders, Eliza notes, and they look up at Maria shyly.

"Care to dance?" Maria says in a low, sultry voice. It's the vocal equivalent of dark chocolate, and Eliza could drown in it. They are snapped back to reality when Maria smiles, showing off a row of perfectly straight, white teeth. She winks and Eliza melts.

"I, um," Eliza begins, and when they see Maria smile even wider they take a deep breath. "I'm Eliza. You're-"

"Maria. Maria Reynolds."

Eliza shuts their mouth before they can say "I already knew that," and they take her hand and use it to help themselves up from their seat. "Elizabeth Schuyler," they say. "That's my... my full name." Maria laughs quietly and Eliza's eyes are too focused on Maria's hand holding their's to even notice their own embarrassment. 

Maria holds their hand gently as they walk to the floor, and Eliza catches Ben's eye for a moment. He smiles and winks and Eliza jerks her head at Maria in a "Can you believe my luck?" kind of way.

Soon, however, Maria is guiding Eliza's hands across her body and settling them into position. Eliza is thankful, as they think that their brain is currently short-circuiting in the presence of such beauty.

Maria is leading, and she begins the dance to a song Eliza doesn't recognize but enjoys nonetheless.

 _look at you kids with your vintage music_  
_coming through satellites while cruising_  
_you're part of the past, but now you're the future  
signals crossing can get confusing_

Eliza squeezes Maria's shoulder gently and leans into her slightly. Their faces are so close, and Maria is staring into Eliza's eyes like they're an anchor holding her down. Maria's hand tightens on Eliza's waist, and she leads Eliza into a sweeping motion that makes Eliza's heart flutter excitedly.

Maria reels her back in and Eliza lets out a breath they didn't know they had been holding. Maria's cheeks darken and Eliza thinks their eyes are open as wide as they can go.

_it's enough just to make you feel crazy, crazy, crazy sometimes  
it's enough just to make you feel crazy_

As they continue dancing, Eliza sees Ben and Nathan sneak away to the exit. They smile knowingly, and Maria asks them something.

Eliza blinks a couple of times. "What? Sorry."

Maria lets a small grin paint her face. "What has you smiling, doll?"

Eliza laughs quietly. "Ben and Nathan thought they were sneaky, but I saw them leaving."

 _you get ready you get all dressed up_  
_to go nowhere in particular_  
_back to work, or the coffee shop_  
_doesn't matter, cause it's enough to be young and in love  
to be young and in love_

Maria giggles and Eliza's heart is beating so loud they think it can be heard across the world. "Cute. They're young and in love, y'know? Like the song says, eh?"

"Yeah," Eliza says quietly, their eyes flitting to the floor. Maria must notice she's struck a nerve because she quietly leads Eliza back to their original table. Eliza gratefully accepts their champagne and they take a long, lingering sip. Maria sits beside them. "Can I just... talk?" Eliza asks. Maria nods. Eliza breathes in through their nose and exhales through their mouth once before they begin. "His name was Alex. We dated for six weeks and then got married in December, two years ago. Had a kid, who we named Philip, that next summer. It... It all went downhill from there."

Eliza sips again, takes in a deep breath, lets it out, and continues. "We were in the middle of a Target when I told him I was a lesbian. I, I kind of explained that I was struggling with some compulsory heterosexuality, y'know?" Maria nods in agreement and Eliza's heart swells. 

They continue. "He didn't _really_ react until we got back to the car, where he told me he had been seeing someone for the past two months. His name is John, he's super nice, and now they're engaged. I get Philip weekdays, they get him weekends."

"So everything's okay now?" Maria asks. Eliza nods. Maria opens her mouth to speak and then closes it. After a moment she opens her mouth again. "I told," she sighs, "I told my boyfriend this summer that I was gay and he didn't take it well. I got out of there, though. I don't why I ever dated him, honestly."

"Yeah," Eliza replies, trying to be nonchalant. They feel tears coming on now and they pray desperately for them to go away. "It's just... just that I was 'young and in love' once and I miss it. It was nice, y'know, that six weeks of deep love and romance and cheesy cards and chocolate, and then as soon as I had to fulfill the role of a mother I wasn't really ready, yeah?" Maria nods. "The divorce was okay, but it was really the backlash from friends and family that put me off from dating." _Until now_ , Eliza thinks. "They told me that I had it coming, and that I shouldn't have been so careless. It was tough."

 _look at you kids, you know you're the coolest_  
_the world is yours and you can't refuse it_  
_seen so much you could get the blues  
but that don't mean that you should abuse it_

Eliza swallows around the lump in their throat and Maria gently takes one of their hands, rubbing the skin between their thumb and pointer finger delicately. It's comforting, and Eliza's chest feels warm with the affection.

"Well," Maria says, "I... I'd like to take you out sometime, if that's alright?" Her voice is shaky. "If you're not ready, I, I understand, and I'm not going to force you into anything..." Maria trails off and looks at Eliza, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. 

Eliza blanks, distracted by Maria's helpless face, and forgets how to speak English for a good five seconds. "Uh," they say, "I'd like... yeah, that'd be... good."

_though it's enough just to make you go crazy, crazy, crazy  
i know, it's enough just to make you go crazy, crazy, crazy_

"Yeah?" Maria's eyes twinkle.

"Yeah; I forgot how to speak there for a second," Maria laughs warmly, "but yes, that'd be fantastic. I'd love that."

_and it's enough just to make me go crazy, crazy, crazy  
it's enough just to make me go crazy, crazy, crazy_

Maria smiles in relief and looks at the clock mounted on the wall. "It's late, yeah? I'm hungry."

"Is this our first date?" Eliza laughs.

Maria blushes. "Until I can take you somewhere nicer, yes. How does Sonic sound?"

"Lovely."

"Great." Maria stands. "Shall we?" She offers her arm to Eliza.

"Of course." They accept it gratefully.

 _i get ready, i get all dressed up_  
_to go nowhere in particular_  
_doesn't matter if i'm not enough_  
_for the future or other things to come  
cause i'm young and in love_

For once in her life, Eliza is happy. They're content. They feel as though Maria has filled some kind of hole they didn't know they had. She filled it with warm embraces, gentle hands on waists, and kind words at the right time.

Eliza stops Maria when they reach their cars and, with a small nod from Maria, kisses Maria gently on her lips. They're soft and Eliza carefully lays their arms around Maria's body. Maria lays a hand on Eliza's back and pulls them towards her until they're flush against her body.

Eliza smiles when they part.

"I'm young and in love," Eliza will whisper to themself when they're seated in their car, about to have their first date in so long.

**Author's Note:**

> this was very fun to write. comments are kudos make me very happy. 
> 
> my tumblr is the same as my username on here!


End file.
